Learning another language is never an easy feat. It is very difficult to master a new dialect, especially when the language is Russian, which has significant differences in its grammatical structure and great variation of pneumonic guidelines from Standard English. However, there are a few different methods that can ease the process of learning a new language, and even make learning Russian fun. Some popular methods currently being utilized to learn Russian are the Pimsleur Approach and the Rosetta Stone. Each has its own benefits and style of educating people on the proper use of the Russian language, but the method that has endured as a timeless, preferred, tried and true method is learning Russian from native speakers. Consider the following when deciding for yourself which method one should use.
Method #1: Pimsleur Approach - Quick, but not too efficient. Although the Pimsleur Approach will have you speaking introductions and recognizing pleasantries, it does not teach reading or writing. It only teaches word recognition and ways to communicate the basic necessities. It is priced at around 15.95 for 4 audio cd's.
Method #2: Rosetta stone - Not too quick, extremely effective, and extremely pricy. The Rosetta stone may have you speaking Russian like a pro, but not anytime in the new future. I s also cost around $180 USD for the basic lesson 1 package. Prices top out around $600.00 USD.
Method #3: Having a Russian friend that speaks the native tongue with fluency: Priceless
Surrounding yourself by the language you are trying to learn is a very efficient, cost effective, and logical way to absorb information. By engulfing yourself in a crowd of those who are fluently speaking, reading, and writing Russian, you are just about guaranteed to pick up a multiple words and phrases, as well as proper use of pronouns and sentence structure by seeing them put to use. Studies have shown that most people are kinesthetic learners, which means that they lean best through actions - by seeing and doing things for themselves.
Don't take our word for it...
Finding it difficult to believe you can learn a new language without the help of an expensive, computer based electronic instructor? You are welcome to try any method you find suitable to learn Russian, and perhaps one of the mainstream methods might be needed to validate any information you think might be incorrect or not proper use of Russian (Hey, nobody's perfect!). An excellent source of practice is to find yourself a Russian pen pal. You would not only be finding out about current news, weather, and politics; you would also be getting all the free practice you can handle reading and writing in the language. Who knows? You just might make a friend in the process! Any of these ways you choose to learn the language will have its pros, as well as its cons, but do not forget to weigh out your options. After all, who could teach you better about reading, writing, and speaking the language than someone what was born and raised speaking it?